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Dawgs Close Out '09 Season At WSU

THIS WEEK: The Washington baseball team (25-27 overall, 13-11 in the Pac-10) travels to Washington State (28-22, 16-8) for the final series of the regular season this Friday through Sunday. The fourth-place (tied) Huskies would need a sweep to be eligible for postseason consideration while the second-place Cougars are hoping to secure their first NCAA berth since 1990. The Husky coaches have only determined a starter for Friday's game as senior right-hander Jason Erickson will get the ball for the 5:30 p.m. start. Saturday's first pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, the Dawgs and Cougs will play a 12 noon game. There is no live radio this weekend, though subscribers can catch broadcasts of all three games on the Dawg Channel at gohuskies.com. Here's a look at this weekend's baseball action:

Friday, May 22: UW at WSU, 5:30 p.m. - live audio at gohuskies.comSaturday, May 23: UW at WSU, 2:00 p.m. - live audio at gohuskies.comSunday, May 24: UW at WSU, 12:00 p.m. - live audio at gohuskies.com

SERIES HISTORY: Washington State boasts a 227-179 (.559) record in the all-time series vs. UW. However, over the last 17 years, the series has run decidedly in the Huskies' favor. Dating back to (and including) the 1992 season, the Huskies have gone 67-27 (.713) vs. the Cougars (counting conference and non-conference games). Over that same span, the Dawgs have won 34 and lost only 12 (.739) in games played in Pullman. Since the Pac-10 scrapped divisional play prior to 1999, the UW is 32-13 vs. the Cougars and 21-9 in Pac-10 games only. Additionally, the Huskies have won 21 of the last 30 series (two, three or four-game) with only six losses and three ties, and have lost only three of their last 15 series in Pullman. The Dawgs have won six games in a row and 14 of their last 16 at Bailey-Brayton Field. UW's 17th-year head coach Ken Knutson is 62-26 (.705) all-time vs. WSU; 31-12 (.721) vs. WSU in Pullman and 10-2 (.833) head-to-head vs. fifth-year WSU head coach coach Donnie Marbut.

COACH 'K': In 2004, Husky baseball coach Ken Knutson became the winningest baseball coach in the history of the program. In 2007, he became only the 17th coach in Pac-10 history to reach 500 career wins. Last year, he became the winningest coach in any sport in UW history. Those are just a few of the many accomplishments on Knutson's impressive resume. In his 17 at the helm of his alma mater's baseball team, Knutson has led the Dawgs to two Pac-10 championships, four Pac-10 Northern Division titles and six NCAA Regionals. His career record now stands at 584-396-2 (.596). Before becoming the head man in 1993, Knutson served as the UW pitching coach for eight seasons. In 1985, his staff led the NCAA with a 2.80 ERA. Knutson holds a 303-139-2 (.685) record in home games. He is 240-185 (.565) in Pac-10 games. He's coached 55 All-Pac-10 first-teamers, and has been named league coach of the year three times. A 1981 All-Pac-10 pitcher at the UW, he is joined by assistants Joe Ross, Tighe Dickinson, Kevin Miller and Josh Scofield.

SQUAD BREAKDOWN: UW's 35-man roster, like most college baseball rosters, is a bit on the young side this year. Among the 35 players, there are six seniors, six juniors, 11 sophomores and 12 freshmen, meaning that 23 of 35 (66 percent) players are freshmen or sophomores. The squad includes 23 returners and 12 newcomers (all of them freshmen). The UW's returning players have competed in a total of 909 games. Thirteen different veteran position players have combined for 1,951 career at bats while returning pitchers have made 81 career starts and pitched 643.2 innings in a UW uniform.

WASHINGTON'S TEAM: The Husky baseball roster has always been dominated by in-state players, as most college baseball rosters are. The squad consistently has about 90 percent of players from the state of Washington. For the second straight season, however, this year's squad consists entirely of student-athletes who played their high school ball in Washington. Not surprisingly, the majority of the team comes from western Washington as 29 of the 35 come from west of the Cascade Mountains. Thirteen players come from King County, the county in which the UW is located, and 27 of 30 come from King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, which, essentially, form the Seattle metropolitan area.

POSITION PLAYER NOTES (in alphabetical order):#1 David Bentrott, So. SS: Started 18 of last 21 at SS ... 2-for-3 with solo HR May 16 at Arizona ... solo homer Apr. 26 at Oregon and Apr. 11 vs. Cal ... 2-for-4 in win Mar. 28 at Stanford ... 1-for-3 the next day ... solo homer in start at SS Mar. 25 vs. UC Irvine ... started all 3 at Fresno and 3 of 4 in Minn. ... 2-for-5 vs. UWW; 2-for-3 with solo HR vs. Hawai'i ... started 40 games at shortstop as a freshman in 2008 ... first-team all-league during summer ball, playing for Bend (Ore.) ... all-state shortstop, running back and punter at Tahoma High School.

#15 Andy Bethel, Fr. SS: Has made 23 starts at SS ... started both games vs. BYU (2-for-6 combined) ... 2-for-4 with double, HR Mar. 13 vs. USF ... 3 RBI on Mar. 14 ... 3-for-5 with 2B Mar. 8 at Nevada ... 3 RBI in start Mar. 6 at Nevada ... 2-for-4 with a 3B and an RBI the next day ... started last Wed. vs. Oregon and went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI ... made first start Sun. vs. UCSB ... first game was off bench vs. Wis.-Whitewater ... batted .500 as a senior at Seattle Prep ... 3A all-state first-team selection.

#3 Doug Cherry, Jr. 2B: Started last 14 of last 23 at 2B ... 2-for-3 Apr. 9 vs. California ... 3-for-6 with 3-run HR, 2 doubles and 5 RBI Tue. at Gonzaga ... missed two-plus weeks with with ankle injury ... returned vs. Stanford ... started 2 at Stanford ... grand slam in the 9th Mar. 6 at Nevada ... 9th-inning, 2-out HR Feb. 20 tied game at 4-4 ... 3-for-6 with 4 RBI Feb. 21 at Fresno ... as limited at the start of last year with an injury ... fighting for starting spot at second base in 2009 ... started 11 games last season, second-team all-league during summer, playing for Corvallis (Ore.).

#24 Jacob Clem, So. 1B: Primarily a reliever, has also seen action at 1B and DH ... 2-RBI, first-inning double in 6-3 win Apr. 26 at Oregon ... had 5 ABs off the bench Apr. 7 at Gonzaga, going 1-for-5 with a run ... 4 starts at DH.

#37 Brendan Gardner-Young, So. OF: Started 23 in CF and 21 in LF ... tripled Sun. at Arizona ... 1-for-3 with first homer and 2 RBI in the Huskies' 4-3 win over Oregon State May 10 ... 4-for-10 in USC series ... 2-out, 2-run single in 9th beat Oregon, 2-0, on Apr. 25 ... 2-for-5 Apr. 19 vs. UP ... hit safely in all three vs. Cal ... reached base 7-of-11 in two games vs. UCI .. 5-for-17 at Rose City Invitational ... 2-for-3 with 2 runs vs. Oregon Mar. 4 ... 2-for-4 with 3 runs and 3 RBI vs. Wis.-Whitewater ... 3-for-5 and drove in tying run in 8th vs. Minnesota ... played in 15 games, starting one, last season ... second-team all-state at P and OF as a HS senior, when he was a Collegiate Baseball honorable mention All-American.

#28 Justin Gunn, Fr. 3B: 1-for-4 with a double in start Apr. 19 at UCLA ... started both games at Gonzaga (Apr. 6-7) at 3B, his first two starts ... had a hit in both games ... singled in first AB vs. Wis.-Whitewater ... spent last fall as a walkon QB on the UW football team ... standout baseball, football and basketball player at Renton.

#8 Kevin Komstadius, Fr. 1B: Pinch-hit single Apr. 26 at Oregon ... pinch hit in all 3 at Stanford ... started at DH Mar. 31 vs. Gonzaga ... pinch-hit single Wed. vs. UC Irvine ... started Mar. 15 vs. USF and got 1 of 2 UW hits in the game ... started at 1B vs. UCSB ... earned 2A state player of the year as HS senior ... drafted by Pirates in 29th round ... father Kirk played JC baseball with Ken Knutson and was an All-American at Lewis-Clark State.

#33 Julien Pollard, So. IF/OF: Has started at 3B, 2B and LF ... solo HR May 16 at Arizona ... 1-for-1 with a double and 2 HBPs in Wed. win over BYU ... 3-for-5 with a first-inning grand slam in May 9 win over Oregon State ... started all 3 at Oregon and vs. Cal at 3B ... eighth-innings SF drove in winning run Apr. 9 vs. Cal ... started all 3 at Stanford in LF ... 3-for-10 vs. Irvine ... 5-for-12 in 3 starts last weekend ... 1st-inning RBI double gave UW lead Sun. vs. Oregon ... started both Oregon games, one at 3B, one at 2B ... 3-for-7 in series ... 1-for-5 with 2-run HR vs. Minnesota ... has started in LF and at 3B ... started 2 at Fresno in LF ... 4-for-11 in Fresno series ... second-team All-Jayhawk League during the summer, when he batted .340 for the Liberal (Kan.), which was managed by former big-league manager Mike Hargrove.

#12 Pierce Rankin, So. 2B: Returned to lineup for first time in almost a month vs. Lewis-Clark State after breaking finger in pregame Apr. 6 at Gonzaga ... triple Sun. at Arizona ... 3-for-5 Sat. at Arizona ... 4-for-8 in two-game series vs. BYU ... 3-for-11 with 4 runs in Oregon State series ... 3-for-5 May 1 vs. USC, including game-winning, 2-run hit with 2 out in the 8th ... solo homer in May 3 win over Trojans ... started 27 of first 28 games, at C, 2B, 3B, LF and DH ... 17-game hitting streak broken Mar. 22 vs. Oregon ... hit HRs in 3 straight games at Portland tournament: vs. Hawai'i, Oregon and Portland ... 8th-inning HR vs. Portland broke tie and led to win ... 3-for-5 with 2B, 3B Mar. 8 at Nevada ... homer in Mar. 6 win at Nevada ... solo HR vs. Hawai'i in Minneapolis... two-time team MVP at Shorecrest, where he played for former Husky Alan Bruns ... grandson of two-time Rose Bowl MVP and college football hall of famer Bob Schloredt (UW '61).

#6 Jake Rife, Sr. OF: Regular starter at either LF or DH ... 2-for-5 with 2B and 3B Mon. at Arizona ... 2-for-3 with 3 runs, 2 RBI and a homer (solo in the first) in Wed. win over BYU ... 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a homer in May 9 win over Oregon State ... 5-for-14 with 4 RBI in USC series ... 3-for-4 with 2B, 3B and 2 RBI in 3-0 win May 2 ... also tripled May 1 vs. USC ... 2-for-4 with RBI vs. L-C State ... HR and four RBI Apr. 24 at Oregon ... 4-for-4 with HR Apr. 19 vs. Portland ... tripled to drive in Conley with tying run in 8th inning Apr. 9 vs. Cal ... 2B and HR Apr. 10 vs. Cal ... 3-run homer and 3-for-6 Apr. 7 at Gonzaga ... ... started all 4 at Rose City Invitational (6-for-16, 5 RBI) ... 5-for-14 in 3 starts in LF vs. USF ... 1-for-2 with 2 BBs Tue. vs. Oregon and 1-for-4 on Wed. ... started all 4 last weekend ... 4-for-4 vs. Wis.-Whitewater ... started 1 in LF, 1 at DH at Fresno ... 2-run 3B Feb. 21 ... probably the fastest player on the team ... played summer ball for Liberal (Kan.), playing for longtime big-league player and manager Mike Hargrove ... 2A state MVP as a high school senior.

#43 Aaron Russell, Jr. 3B: 2 hits in each of last 2 games at Arizona ... double and triple Sunday at UA ... started 1 of 2 vs. BYU ... inch-hit, RBI double in 8th drove in go-ahead run in 4-3 win over Oregon State May 10 ... also drove in 2 runs May 8 vs. Beavers ... made return to lineup May 3 vs. USC after a month away due to injury ... 1-for-2 with 2 BBs in return ... 18 starts at 3B ... started all three at Stanford ... 3-run double in Mar. 28 win vs. Cardinal ... 5-for-9 with 8 RBI in UC Irvine series ... 2 HRs (solo, grand slam), double and 6 RBI in Wed. win ... missed USF series due to injury ... went 6-for-10 in UP tournament ... had a hit in six straight ABs ... started 25 games last season, including seven at 3B ... a career. 348 hitter in 112 at bats ... had a 6-for-6 game last season at UC Riverside, in his first game of the season.

#32 Troy Scott, So. 1B: Started 50 of 52 at 1B ... 2B and 2 RBI Monday at Arizona ... HR in both games vs. BYU to bring total for the season to 10 ... hit two homers in USC series and also had game-winning RBI double in 10th in May 3 win ... HRs Fri. and Sun. vs. Trojans ... also homered twice at Oregon, both solo HRs after Conley had gone deep ... homered Apr. 18 at UCLA .. .3 hits Apr. 5 vs. Arizona State ... 3 hits in Mar. 28 win at Stanford ... 3-run homer, 4 RBI total in Mar. 24 loss vs. UC Irvine ... 3-for-4 with HR Mar. 4 vs. Oregon ... 3-for-4 with grand slam and 5 RBI vs. Wis.-Whitewater ... started 49 games at first base last season ... honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2008 ... during summer ball, led the Alaska League in both doubles and runs batted in ... batted .600 with 9 homers, 27 runs and 17 steals as a high school senior at Auburn High ... league MVP and Rawlings All-American ... taken by Twins in 2007 draft.

#44 Brett Wilcox, Sr. C: Starting catcher has made 33 starts behind the plate and 3 at DH ... started both vs. BYU; all 3 vs. OSU; all 3 vs. USC, all 3 at Oregon and all 3 vs. Cal at catcher ... hit safely in all three vs. Cal ... two-run homer in start Mar. 31 vs. Gonzaga ... 2-for-4 in start at C Mar. 7 at Nevada ... 1-for-5 as starting C Mar. 4 vs. Oregon ... 2 starts at C, 1 at DH at Minn. ... 2-for-3 vs. UCSB ... 1 start at C, 2 at DH at Fresno ... 4-for-12 in FSU series ... lefty hitter started 12 in 2007 and 28 last season ... joined the UW team at midseason in 2007, transferring from Belleuve CC .. a .324 career hitter in 136 at bats entering the season ... KingCo 4A Most Valuable Player as a senior at Bothell High.